2026 California Proposition 40

Proposition 40
November 3, 2026
One-Time Wealth Tax for State-Funded Health Care Programs Initiative

Proposition 40, also known as the California billionaire tax or California wealth tax, is a combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute appearing on the November 3, 2026, ballot in the state of California.

If Proposition 40 is approved by voters, the state's billionaires would pay a one-time 5 percent tax on their accumulated wealth. Revenue from the tax would primarily fund state healthcare programs, with a smaller portion going toward food assistance and public education. Proposition 40 was sponsored by the labor union SEIU United Healthcare Workers West.

Background

Proposition 40 was drafted by tax law professors Brian Galle of UC Berkeley, David Gamage of the University of Missouri, Darien Shanske of UC Davis, and economist Emmanuel Saez of UC Berkeley. Labor union SEIU United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) filed the initiative. In December 2025, state attorney general Rob Bonta issued the official title and summary.

On April 26, 2026, SEIU-UHW announced that they had collected 1.6 million signatures in support of the tax, nearly double the 874,641 required to qualify for the November ballot. On June 17, the California secretary of state announced that the wealth tax had qualified for the ballot with 980,438 valid signatures.

A day later, SEIU-UHW sent a letter to California governor Gavin Newsom—an opponent of the initiative—offering to withdraw the 5% wealth tax proposal if Newsom supported a smaller 2% levy on billionaires that would be passed by the state legislature; Newsom quickly rejected the amended proposal. Negotiations stalled before the June 25 withdrawal deadline, and the initiative was certified for the November ballot.

Impact

The initiative would impose the Billionaire Tax Act, a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of the California residents worth over $1 billion. 90% of revenue from the tax would go towards state-funded healthcare programs, including Medi-Cal, while the rest would provide funding for food assistance and public education.

The eligibility cut-off outlined in Proposition 40 is January 1, 2026, meaning that if the initiative is passed by voters, billionaires who continued to hold residence in the state of California after that date will be subject to the 5% tax. Seven of the state's estimated 214 billionaires were reported to have left California before or around the deadline, including PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They may be subject to a residency audit to determine whether they have sufficiently severed ties with the state.

Revenue

Analysis by the California Legislative Analyst's Office found the wealth tax was likely to temporarily increase revenue by up to tens of billions of dollars total, collected over several years. The analysis also found the tax would possibly decrease income tax revenue by less than $1 billion annually from billionaires leaving California.

SEIU-UHW, the labor union behind the initiative, estimated that the tax would generate $100 billion, though revenue from the billionaires who reportedly left the state prior to the deadline accounts for an estimated $29 billion of that sum, according to Fortune. Academic Kent Smetters cast doubt on SEIU-UHW's estimate, telling the Los Angeles Times that the union is "not accounting for the different ways that people can move or reclassify wealth". UC Berkeley economics professor Enrico Moretti warned that the tax "has the potential to completely destroy California's economy", and described the revenue estimate as "way overly optimistic."

The conservative-leaning Hoover Institution estimated that "permanent loss of income taxes from the departing residents indicates a high likelihood that net effect of the Billionaire Tax Act will be negative" by almost $25 billion. This conclusion was criticized by one of the bill's authors, David Gamage, who contended that the group's analysis "suggests that the billionaire tax might raise more revenue than our projections even say".

In a guest essay for The New York Times, Gabriel Zucman and initiative co-author Saez responded to concerns about billionaires fleeing the state, claiming that because billionaires are able to avoid income tax on most earnings, "even if all of them left the state, it would take 25 years for the loss of their tax payments... to surpass the amount the state would raise" if the initiative passes. In a working paper, Saez and Zucman, alongside co-author Jasper Boll of the Paris School of Economics, estimated that state income tax payments by California billionaires make up 2.4 percent of California's annual income tax revenue.

Economist Teresa Ghilarducci of the Economic Policy Institute, a pro-union think tank, considered an exodus of billionaires due to the tax unlikely, pointing to a 2022 Massachusetts 4% surtax on income above $1 million that exceeded projected revenue. Nuveen, an asset management company, also concluded billionaire outmigration was unlikely and that the tax posed minimal risk to California's credit profile and municipal bonds.

In October 2026, two Stanford University researchers—Benjamin Jaros and Joshua Rauh—ran 100,000 simulations with various possible outcomes where Proposition 40 was approved by voters. The researchers estimated that the proposed tax would cost California $39 billion in tax revenue, with 85 percent of simulated plausible scenarios showing in a net negative revenue impact.

Effective tax rate

The Tax Foundation, a center-right think tank, argued that it was possible for the effective wealth tax rate to far exceed 5% for some taxpayers due to provisions related to dual-class share structures, but acknowledged that this would be unlikely in cases where valuations are clearly incorrect. The initiative's drafters published a report arguing that this concern was based on a misreading of the text.

Real estate

Forbes cited the billionaire tax initiative as the reason for a real estate boom on Nevada's side of Lake Tahoe, noting that a number of lakefront homes were purchased by California billionaires after the proposal was announced. Bill Dietz, a Lake Tahoe realtor, told the magazine that a "clear acceleration of ultra-high-net-worth buyers moving from California to Nevada" took place, driven by "tax strategy".

In late 2025, Oracle founder Larry Ellison sold his San Francisco mansion for $45 million, choosing to relocate to Nevada; venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson later did the same. In June 2026, former U.S. ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman and her husband, neurosurgeon Griffith R. Harsh, sold a number of properties in California, including a $17.9 million fly fishing ranch, purportedly over fears that the billionaire tax would be approved by voters.

Campaign

Support

Sanders discussing the billionaire tax in February 2026

U.S. senator Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, has endorsed the billionaire tax. At a February 2026 Los Angeles rally in support of the tax, Sanders described billionaires as "oligarchs of the 18th century...[who] believe they have the divine right to rule". Many prominent supporters have asserted that the billionaire tax is a necessary response to the Trump administration's restrictions and cuts to Medicaid, including former U.S. secretary of labor Robert Reich, who described the tax as a "practical way to keep the healthcare system functioning".

The state branch of the Democratic Socialists of America endorsed the billionaire tax, stating that "without this funding, thousands of jobs will be lost, millions of Californians could lose coverage altogether, and care facilities across the state could be forced to close".

U.S. representative Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat who represents much of the Silicon Valley, has expressed strong support for the tax. Some venture capitalists from Khanna's district responded by backing his unsuccessful primary challenger, Ethan Agarwal. Two 2026 Democratic gubernatorial candidates, billionaire businessman Tom Steyer and state superintendent of public instruction Tony Thurmond, endorsed the tax.

Current Affairs editor Alex Scopic argued in favor of the tax, considering it an important method of countering the "buy, borrow, die" tax avoidance strategy by billionaires. Emmanuel Saez, a co-author of the initiative, said that the tax would "preserve [healthcare and education] programs that are crucial for California's economy".

Supporters of Proposition 40 at a May 2026 rally

In August 2026, the California Democratic Party endorsed Proposition 40. After a failed initial endorsement vote and an unsuccessful alternative motion to adopt a neutral position on the measure, a second endorsement vote yielded 61.7 percent in favor, narrowly exceeding the 60 percent threshold for endorsement.

In September 2026, a group of six progressive Nobel laureates of economics published a letter in support of the tax, arguing that it would help address growing inequality in California and loopholes that have allowed billionaires to avoid taxes on capital gains. The economists wrote that if California passed Proposition 40, it would "kickstart a movement" to tax ultra-high-net-worth individuals elsewhere.

SEIU-UHW extortion and abuse allegations

In February 2026, SEIU United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW) president David Huerta and three other labor leaders filed a formal complaint against SEIU-UHW president Dave Regan, accusing him of extorting them by suggesting that he would "report unspecified governance concerns to the U.S. Department of Labor ... if [they] did not support the billionaire tax". An investigation initiated by the SEIU's national branch substantiated these claims as well as allegations from SEIU California executive director Tia Orr that Regan had threatened her by telling her to "endorse this measure ... or I'm coming for you".

A September 2026 report from SEIU California found that Regan had "engaged in a pattern of subjecting former and current SEIU California female directors to intimidating and threatening physical behavior" and substantiated former union leader Courtni Pugh's allegations that Regan physically assaulted her. Regan denied this and claimed that because Pugh worked as a political consultant against the tax, she had a reason to lie. A separate investigation found that Regan had intimidated and bullied SEIU California's government relations director, Jessica Bartholow, by standing "uncomfortably close" to her as "tensions flared over the billionaire tax" before "scream[ing] an expletive at her".

Regan dismissed the allegations as political retaliation over his support for the billionaire tax; an independent investigation found that his claims were unsubstantiated. On September 11, 2026, the California Nurses Association, who support Proposition 40, published a statement urging Regan to resign over "inappropriate, aggressive behavior and threats targeting other labor staff to support the Prop. 40 billionaire tax initiative."

Opposition

California governor Gavin Newsom has vocally opposed the tax, telling Politico that the proposal "makes no sense" and is "really damaging to the state". A number of Democratic candidates who aimed to succeed Newsom in the 2026 gubernatorial election also opposed the tax, including former U.S. representative Katie Porter, former U.S. secretary of health and human services Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and San Jose mayor Matt Mahan. Republican candidates Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton expressed opposition to the tax.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has spent more than $100 million opposing the tax

Ayn Rand Institute associate fellow Robertas Bakula argued in the Los Angeles Daily News that Proposition 40's eligibility deadline of January 1, 2026, is illegal due to a constitutional ban on retroactive laws. In a February 2026 effort to curb the effects of the eligibility deadline, U.S. representative Kevin Kiley introduced a bill in Congress that would prohibit a state from levying a tax retroactively on people who no longer live in the state.

In an April 2026 editorial, The Wall Street Journal criticized wording in the act that would allow the state legislature to make amendments that could widen the scope of eligibility for the tax. In May 2026, The Washington Post publicly opposed the "self-destructive" tax, stating that the initiative "has already cost the state more in lost future revenue from income taxes than it would raise". In September 2026, the Los Angeles Times published its first editorial in 18 months, urging voters to oppose Proposition 40, claiming that it was "poorly drafted" and has "insufficient guardrails to ensure the funds are spent to actually address Californians' most pressing healthcare needs". In a later interview, former Los Angeles Times editor Mariel Garza noted that the newspaper's owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, is a billionaire.

Building a Better California, an organization co-founded by Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt that is opposed to the billionaire tax, introduced two questions to the November 2026 ballot, which are designed to curb the effects of the billionaire tax if it passes. One, known as Proposition 41, would bar new taxes from circumventing rules on education spending requirements for tax revenue, while Proposition 42 would invalidate the billionaire tax by amending the state constitution to forbid retroactive taxation. Another measure that would've required more audits of special taxes and imposed more rules on how revenue could be spent did not qualify for the ballot.

By August 2026, Building a Better California had raised $118 million, primarily from Brin, Chris Larsen, and John Doerr. Peter Thiel has separately contributed around $100 million to an anti-Proposition 40 committee led by the California Business Roundtable.

Dozens of anti-Proposition 40 protestors staged a "pro-billionaire" march in San Francisco on February 7, 2026.

In June 2026, a number of progressive organizations announced their opposition to the billionaire tax. In a joint statement, Planned Parenthood and the California Medical Association criticized the wealth tax's ambiguity and described it as a "flawed response" to health care cuts, while the California Teachers Association stated that the billionaire tax "will not provide the sustainable and long-lasting funding that our schools and communities deserve". That same month, various California housing advocacy groups—including California YIMBY—opposed the tax, fearing that it would discourage investment and worsen the state's housing shortage.

Several California labor unions have opposed Proposition 40, arguing that the measure contains a loophole that would allow the state legislature to tax the savings and retirement accounts of all residents. The political director of the Ironworkers District Council of the State of California and Vicinity claimed that the tax would be a "trap door for working families." A representative for the Los Angeles and Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council stated that Proposition 40 would negatively impact the state budget, which relies on tax revenue from wealthy residents.

Other reactions

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who would have to pay roughly $8 billion if the measure passed, stated he was "perfectly fine with it" and had "not thought about it once" when asked if he was concerned about the tax. He added that he and others "chose to live in Silicon Valley, and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it". The League of Women Voters of California adopted a neutral position on Proposition 40, stating that while the measure addresses "urgent needs", its one-time structure "conflicts with sound public finance principles and risks long-term revenue loss".

Endorsements

Support
Executive branch officials
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives
Statewide officials
State legislators
Local officials
Individuals
Labor unions
Organizations
Government bodies
Political parties
Newspapers and media
Oppose
Executive branch officials
U.S. representatives
Statewide officials
State legislators
Local officials
Individuals
Labor unions
Organizations
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Newspapers and media
Neutral/declined to endorse
U.S. senators
Labor unions
Organizations
Government bodies

Polling

%0102030405060December 6–10, 2025September 24 – October 1, 2026YesNoUndecidedOpinion polling for 2026 California Proposition 40
Among likely voters (LV) only. View source data.
Poll source Date(s)

administered

 Sample

size

 Margin of error Phrasing Yes No Undecided
TrueDot October 9–14, 2026 909 (LV) ±3.6% 46% 43% 10%
Manhattan Institute (R) September 24 – October 1, 2026 1000 (LV) ±3.1% 35% 50% 15%
IVC Media September 23 – October 2, 2026 2906 (LV) ±2.5% 38% 42% 21%
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy September 21–24, 2026 625 (LV) ±4.0% 48% 38% 14%
Berkeley IGS September 15–20, 2026 4512 (LV) ±2.0% 45% 42% 13%
SurveyUSA September 15–20, 2026 742 (LV) ±5.5% 48% 40% 12%
TrueDot September 8–14, 2026 2418 (RV) ±2.7% 46% 40% 14%
1983 (LV) ±3.0% 45% 43% 12%
Public Policy Institute of California September 4–10, 2026 1097 (LV) ±3.8% 52% 46% 2%
FM3 Research (D) August 23–27, 2026 1250 (LV) – 44% 47% 8%
Berkeley IGS August 3–9, 2026 2310 (LV) ±2.5% 48% 41% 11%
FM3 Research (D) July 22–27, 2026 842 (LV) – 46% 47% 7%
New River Strategies June 23–25, 2026 1553 (LV) ±2.5% – 57% 38% 5%
Goodwin Simon Strategic Research June 10–15, 2026 607 (LV) – 47% 43% 10%
Tulchin Research (D) June 8–14, 2026 1000 (LV) ±3.1% 41% 47% 12%
Public Policy Institute of California May 14–18, 2026 986 (LV) ±4.1% 54% 45% 1%
Berkeley IGS March 9–15, 2026 5109 (RV) ±2.0% 52% 33% 15%
TrueDot February 25 – March 3, 2026 1220 (RV) ±3.0% 50% 28% 23%
The Mellman Group (D) January 6–12, 2026 800 (LV) ±3.0% 48% 38% 14%
Nestpoint January 2–12, 2026 907 (LV) ±3.0% – 60% 24% 16%
David Binder Research (D) December 6–10, 2025 800 (LV) ±3.5% 55% 39% 6%

Notes

  1. ↑ Kiley was elected as a Republican before registering as an independent in 2026.
  2. ↑ Romero held office as a Democrat but switched her party affiliation to Republican in 2024.
  3. ↑ Editorial board's own endorsement
  4. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
Partisan clients
  1. 1 2 3 Poll sponsored by Politico and the UC Berkeley Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research.
  2. ↑ Poll sponsored by the Independent Voter Project.
  3. ↑ Poll sponsored by NBCUniversal Local and Telemundo Station Group.
  4. 1 2 Poll sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.
  5. ↑ Poll sponsored by KGTV and The San Diego Union-Tribune.
  6. ↑ Poll sponsored by No on Prop 40, a coalition opposing the initiative.
  7. ↑ Poll sponsored by No on Prop 40, a coalition opposing the initiative.
  8. ↑ Poll sponsored by SEIU-UHW, a union supporting the initiative.
  9. ↑ Poll sponsored by the Blue Collar Coalition, a group funded by the California State Council of Laborers.
  10. ↑ Poll sponsored by Golden State Promise, a political action committee opposing the initiative.
  11. ↑ Poll sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.
  12. ↑ Poll sponsored by Kensington Avenue Strategies, a Republican strategy firm.
  13. ↑ Poll sponsored by Stop the Squeeze, a political action committee opposing the initiative.
Poll phrasing
  1. ↑ Respondents were read the initiative's ballot title and summary. Those who had not yet voted were then asked: "If the election were held today, how would you vote on this initiative?", while those who had voted were asked: "How did you vote on this initiative?"
  2. ↑ "This November, Proposition 40 will appear on the ballot in California. If passed, the state would collect a one-time tax from billionaires equal to 5 percent of their wealth. If the election were held today, would you support or oppose Proposition 40?"
  3. ↑ Respondents were read the initiative's ballot title and summary. They were then given the Legislative Analyst's Office's estimate that Proposition 40 would raise tens of billions of dollars but could cost up to $1 billion a year in income tax revenue if wealthy residents leave California.
  4. ↑ Respondents were read the initiative's ballot title and summary.
  5. ↑ Respondents were read the initiative's ballot title and summary.
  6. ↑ "A YES vote on this measure means: The state would collect a one-time tax from billionaires equal to 5 percent of their wealth. A NO vote on this measure means: The state would not collect a one-time tax from billionaires equal to 5 percent of their wealth. If the election were held today and you were filling out your ballot right now, how would you vote on Proposition 40?"
  7. 1 2 "If the election were held today, how would you vote on this initiative?"
  8. ↑ "If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no?"
  9. ↑ Respondents were read the initiative's ballot title and summary.
  10. ↑ Respondents were read the initiative's ballot title and summary.
  11. ↑ Respondents were read the initiative's ballot title and summary.
  12. ↑ Respondents were read the initiative's ballot title and summary.
  13. ↑ Respondents were read the initiative's ballot title and summary.
  14. ↑ "A proposed citizens' initiative for the November 2026 state ballot is titled "Imposes One-Time Tax on Certain Individuals and Trusts. Initiative Constitutional Amendment." It imposes a one-time tax of up to 5% on taxpayers and trusts with covered assets valued over $1 billion; covered assets include businesses, securities, art, collectibles, and intellectual property, but exclude real property and some pensions and retirement accounts. It allocates 90% of these tax revenues for health care, 10% for food assistance or education-related programs; and prohibits using revenues to replace existing funding for these purposes. It exempts such tax revenues from constitutional requirements for school funding, budget reserves, and state spending limit. If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no?"
  15. ↑ "The Billionaire Tax initiative calls for imposing a one-time 5% state tax on the total wealth of any California resident whose net worth is greater than 1 billion dollars. Supporters say it will provide much needed tax revenues and help offset the cutbacks being made by the Trump administration to existing state health care and food assistance programs. Opponents say its passage would undercut state tax revenues in the long run and stifle innovation as many of California's highest paying taxpayers and most successful individuals may choose to leave the state to avoid the tax. If you were voting today on the Billionaire Tax Initiative, would you vote Yes or No?"
  16. ↑ Respondents were read the initiative's ballot title and summary.
  17. ↑ "Do you support or oppose the Billionaire Tax Act, which would impose a one-time five percent tax on the accumulated net worth of individuals in California with a net worth of one billion dollars or more?"

References

  1. ↑ Leonard, Christian (17 February 2026). "How would the California 'billionaire tax' really work? We break it down". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Letourneau, Connor (18 March 2026). "Progressives love him. Billionaires hate him. Can a Berkeley professor pass California's wealth tax?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  3. ↑ "California Billionaire Tax Act". SEIU UHW –. 2025-10-23. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  4. ↑ "Billionaires vs. Unions: California's 2026 tax war is on". sfstandard.com. 2026-03-09. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  5. ↑ Rosenhall, Laurel (27 April 2026). "California Billionaire Tax Has Enough Signatures to Land on Ballot, Backers Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  6. ↑ Fields, Ashleigh (27 April 2026). "California billionaire tax has enough signatures for ballot, backers say". The Hill. Retrieved 28 April 2026. Supporters say 1.6 million people have submitted signatures favoring the Billionaire Tax Act for approval, according to the Los Angeles Times. State law requires at least 874,641 registered voters to provide signatures to county elections officials by June 24, per the outlet.
  7. ↑ "California billionaires tax qualifies for ballot, setting up costly fight". POLITICO. 17 June 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "California billionaire tax made the ballot. Why is the union backing down?". Human Resources Director. 21 June 2026. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "California Billionaire Tax Backers Float Lower Rate in Push for Deal". Bloomberg. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Austin, Sophie (18 June 2026). "California labor union offers to scale back billionaire tax proposal after pushback". Voice of Alexandria. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  11. ↑ Kiernan, Paul; Nelson, Laura J. (19 June 2026). "Union Behind California Billionaire's Tax Offers to Drop It in Favor of Smaller Tax". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Failing 'Moral Test,' Newsom Rejects Compromise 2% Wealth Tax on California Billionaires". Common Dreams. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  13. ↑ Robins-Early, Nick; Kerr, Dara (26 June 2026). "California billionaire tax will appear on ballot after deadline for deal passes". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  14. 1 2 "California wealth tax fight moves to voters". POLITICO. 25 June 2026. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 Munis, Jacqueline (17 March 2026). "Only 6 billionaires left California over its proposed wealth tax — but they took $27 billion in potential revenue with them". Fortune. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  16. 1 2 Hwang, Kristen; Yu, Yue Stella (26 June 2026). "Your November ballot: See the 14 measures California voters will decide". CalMatters. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  17. ↑ Nelson, Laura; Chung, Juliet (24 January 2026). "The Hardest Part About Being a Billionaire in California: Proving You Left". Wall Street Journal. A proposed billionaire tax has some of the richest Californians eyeing the exits. First they'll have to contend with the state's dogged tax collectors.
  18. ↑ Mac, Ryan; Schleifer, Theodore; Knight, Heather (January 9, 2026). "Google Co-Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page Reduce Ties to California". The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2026. Mr. Brin and Mr. Page still have connections to California, including homes across the state. It's unclear how much time they will be spending in the state this year.
  19. ↑ "Prop. 40 imposes the billionaire tax - The Standard Voter Guide". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  20. 1 2 Foley, Stephen (14 July 2026). "Billionaires who fled California wealth tax risk intrusive residency audit". Financial Times. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  21. 1 2 "Proposition 40 - Analysis of Measure". California Legislative Analyst's Office. Retrieved 2026-09-08. Temporary state revenue increase from a new wealth tax on billionaires. These wealth tax revenues probably would add up to tens of billions of dollars spread over several years. Possible ongoing decrease of less than $1 billion per year in state income tax revenue collected from billionaires.
  22. ↑ Rosenhall, Laurel (19 June 2026). "Union Behind California Billionaire Tax Offers to Reduce the Rate". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  23. ↑ Rosenhall, Laurel (2026-04-27). "California Billionaire Tax Has Signatures Needed for Ballot, Backers Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
  24. 1 2 "Amid rising costs, California and L.A. initiatives aim to tax the ultra-rich". Los Angeles Times. 18 January 2026. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  25. ↑ Quiroz-Gutierrez, Marco. "The tax escape map: Billionaires are bolting for Florida from the West Coast and taking some $29 billion in tax revenue with them". Fortune. Retrieved 30 August 2026. A back-of-the-envelope calculation using the 5% wealth tax metric puts the dollar figure of taxes owed by Page at about $14 billion and Brin at about $13 billion. Meanwhile 5% of Kalanick's and Thiel's wealth adds another $1.8 billion or so that brings the total potentially lost revenue to about $29 billion.
  26. ↑ "Is California's proposed billionaire tax smart policy? History holds lessons". Los Angeles Times. 26 January 2026. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  27. ↑ "The Net Present Value of the Billionaire Tax Act: An Assessment of the Fiscal Effects of California's Proposed Wealth Tax". Hoover Institution. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  28. ↑ Levin, Dan. "Economists butt heads over California billionaire tax predictions". Straight Arrow News. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
  29. ↑ Saez, Emmanuel; Zucman, Gabriel (2026-05-26). "The Case for California's Billionaire Wealth Tax". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
  30. ↑ Boll, Jasper; Saez, Emmanuel; Zucman, Gabriel (May 2026), California Billionaires: Wealth, Taxes, and Wealth Tax Revenue Estimates (Working Paper), Working Paper Series, National Bureau of Economic Research, doi:10.3386/w35218, 35218, retrieved 2026-07-30
  31. ↑ Ghilarducci, Teresa. "Why California's 200 Billionaires Won't Leave Over Prop 40". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2026-08-31. Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  32. ↑ "California considers one-time tax on billionaires". Nuveen. 9 February 2026. Retrieved 15 July 2026. Our analysis suggests the billionaire tax – whether enacted or not – poses minimal risk to the state's credit quality and municipal bond portfolios. Historically, tax changes have rarely triggered significant population shifts among high-net-worth individuals.
  33. ↑ "California billionaire tax could leave state with less revenue, Stanford study cautions". CBS News. 19 October 2026. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
  34. ↑ Boehm, Eric (20 October 2026). "California's 'wealth tax' could cost the state $39 billion". Reason Magazine. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
  35. ↑ "California Wealth Tax: Details & Analysis of Proposed Billionaire Tax". Tax Foundation. January 14, 2026. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
  36. 1 2 Higgs, Milly (2026-04-15). "Yes, the California Wealth Tax Could Tax Voting Interests". Tax Foundation. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
  37. 1 2 Skopic, Alex (2026-01-16). "Every Argument Against the California Billionaire Tax is Wrong". Current Affairs. ISSN 2471-2647. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
  38. ↑ Galle, Brian D.; Gamage, David; Saez, Emmanuel; Shanske, Darien (2026), Expert Report on Valuation of Controlling Shares of Publicly Traded Companies Under the California Billionaire Tax Act (CBTA), doi:10.2139/ssrn.6073728, retrieved 2026-05-06
  39. 1 2 "Inside Lake Tahoe's Billionaire Real Estate Boom". Forbes. Retrieved 10 April 2026.
  40. 1 2 Chandler, Michele. "Ranch known for 'superb' fly fishing sold amid California tax fears". Record Searchlight. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  41. 1 2 3 4 Duara, Nigel (19 February 2026). "Bernie Sanders vs. Silicon Valley: California's billionaire tax battle heats up". CalMatters. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  42. 1 2 3 4 "'The 2026 Billionaire Tax Act': Emergency Proposal Aims to Fight Back Against Trump Attack on Medicaid". Common Dreams. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  43. ↑ "Tax the Rich". California DSA. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
  44. ↑ "Economic Inequality Means Income and Wealth: Why We Endorsed Both "Tax the Rich" Ballot Measures for November". California DSA. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  45. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Bernie Sanders to Launch California Billionaire Tax Campaign Next Week". KFI AM 640. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  46. ↑ Metzger, Bryan. "How Ro Khanna's support for a wealth tax earned him a tech-backed primary challenger". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  47. 1 2 3 "Tony Thurmond "Proud" To Endorse Prop 40 Billionaire Tax". State Affairs. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
  48. 1 2 "California Democratic Party endorses billionaire tax". Politico. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  49. ↑ Paviour, Ben (August 2, 2026). "California Democratic Party endorses billionaire wealth tax in narrow vote". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  50. ↑ "California Democratic Party endorses wealth tax after contested floor fight". San Francisco Standard. 2 August 2026. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  51. ↑ Foley, Stephen; Taffe, Michael (September 19, 2026). "Nobel economists throw support behind California billionaire tax". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
  52. 1 2 Ma, Jason. "California's billionaire tax will 'kickstart a movement' that spreads to more states, the federal government and other countries, Nobel laureates say". Fortune. Retrieved 2026-09-19. While billionaires have "made important contributions," the letter added, they have also been "amply rewarded" and have used loopholes to avoid taxes on capital returns, allowing their wealth to compound further.
  53. ↑ "Economics Nobel Laureates Support letter for Proposition 40, the California billionaire tax" (PDF). September 19, 2026. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  54. 1 2 "California wealth tax proponent threatened labor officials, law firm's report finds". POLITICO. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  55. 1 2 3 4 5 "Architect of billionaire tax tried to 'extort' support for the measure and targeted women, union reports find". Los Angeles Times. 11 September 2026. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  56. ↑ Libby, Sara; Wiley, Hannah (11 September 2026). "Union boss behind billionaire tax bullied, tried to 'extort' staffers over the measure, reports find". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  57. ↑ "Nurses say it is time for SEIU's Dave Regan to resign". National Nurses United. 11 September 2026. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
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